The invention set forth in this specification pertains to new and improved dispensing closures which are especially constructed so as to be capable of being utilized in dispensing a spray of liquid and air.
In the past many different devices have been developed for utilizing a stream of gas such as air to spray a liquid. An understanding of this invention is not considered to require a detailed consideration of many different prior mechanical spray type devices such as common aspirators and the like. As so called "aerosol" technology has developed such essentially mechanical type devices have not been commonly utilized in many different applications such as, for example, in the cosmetics and toiletries fields. Instead, these industries have extensively utilized so called "aerosol" dispensers for spraying a liquid-gas mixture.
There are several objections to the use of aerosol type dispensers. It is considered that these devices tend to be somewhat unnecessarily expensive because of mechanical and related considerations. Further, aerosol containers are increasingly being found objectionable because normally it is necessary and/or desirable to utilize a propellant within them which consists of one or more halogenated lower aliphatic compounds. It is considered by some that such propellants are somewhat hazardous when utilized within an enclosed space such as a washroom where toiletries or cosmetics are apt to be applied. It is also considered by some that the indiscriminate use of such propellants may be dangerous to the future of mankind because of possible effects on an ozone layer in the outer atmosphere of the earth.
As a result of these attitudes with respect to the use of aerosol dispensers for spraying a liquid there has been a great deal of commercial interest in packaging products which have previously been packed in aerosol type dispensers in containers employed with essentially mechanical or mechanical type spray dispensers. It is considered that those essentially mechanical type spray devices which were extensively utilized prior to the advent or acceptance of aerosol technology are not particularly desirable for use with modern day packaging. It is not considered necessary to encumber this specification with a long discussion as to the basis of this opinion.
Present day packaging as used in certain fields such as the cosmetics and toiletries fields is advanced over prior packaging in which lids were merely placed on and removed from containers because of the use of so called dispensing closures. Such a dispensing closure is constructed so that it can be mounted on a container and normally includes a member such as a spout which can be pivoted between open and closed positions. These dispensing closures are advantageous in that they permit a user to gain access to the contents of a container without having to remove a lid or cap from the container.
Because of the manners in which such dispensing closures have been constructed it has not been considered practical or feasible to incorporate essentially mechanical type spray mechanisms within them. Although there have been efforts in this regard such efforts are considered to have been unsuccessful from a practical standpoint. The principal reasons for this pertain to simplicity of construction and reliability against leakage. In the present day closure field costs are frequently of paramount importance. As a result of this closures which are even slightly expensive than other related closures as a result of molding die complexity and/or as a result of the use of slightly more material than other related closures are relatively unacceptable from a commercial standpoint.